A MONTH OF MAGIC: Hero Complex is counting down to the Nov. 19 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1” — the penultimate film in the history-making “Potter” franchise — with exclusive interviews, photos, videos and reports from the set. Now, Hero Complex writer Noelene Clark interviews Barry Wilkinson, the prop master in charge of guarding a mountain of magical items and gear.
Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1." (Warner Bros.)
Barry Wilkinson, prop master for all eight “Harry Potter” films, might know the wizarding world better than anyone. He’s handled thousands of Potter props — brooms, quills, potions and all manner of magical items — over the course of a decade. Just for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the two-part franchise finale, Wilkinson had more than 500 wands manufactured.
“Everyone’s got their own continuity wand, even down to the Death Eaters,” Wilkinson said. “All the principal characters have their own wands, and they’re all listed and accounted for, and it’s an amazing system. And each wand is individual. It’s an incredible job just designing those and to keep trying to think up different designs for wands, but when you look at them, they are just totally different.”
Then, Wilkinson said, there are the duplicates: back-up wands for main characters, rubber wands for stunt work, “fast-cast” wands for background shots and more generic wands for crowd scenes. Factor in the previous films and Ollivander’s Wand Shop, which was fully stocked, and the wand count easily reaches the thousands.
“Each one’s got a number, and it’s checked out and it’s checked in at the end of each day,” Wilkinson said. “We have some broken, but they’re all accounted for, and we have to make notes of and keep records of everything.”
Wilkinson, who won BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award in 2008, is no stranger to supernatural movie props. He was property master for “Labyrinth” and Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” as well as “The Fifth Element.”
“I enjoyed those films because they were different,” Wilkinson said. “And that was very good getting all that stuff together with Mr. Spielberg and everything. Of course, it wasn’t such a big designing job prop-wise as these Potters have been. It’s just the amount of items in the film and the precision of what we have to get made.”
Lord Voldemort and his cohorts in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (Warner Bros)
The props seem to have evolved as the story has darkened. The first film featured Quidditch equipment and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. The two-part finale will focus on Horcruxes and Deathly Hallows — props that Wilkinson says he can’t yet discuss in detail.
Working on those props took a lot of “sitting round the tables and discussing, and there were numerous designs for those going backward and forward,” he said. “They’re such special items, and there’s so much [that] goes into it. They’re all designed and drawn up really before they come down to us to start getting manufactured. … They play such a vital part — and all the props do in this series of films — that they’re really done quite differently from other movies.”
Now, after 10 years of work on the Hogwarts films, Wilkinson and his team are charged with dismantling the world they helped create. “We’ve got this huge task of packing everything away,” he said. “At the moment, we’ve got 104 containers full of props and set dressings, which have now got to be lifted and archived and accounted for.” For Wilkinson, who’s become accustomed to breaks of less than 10 weeks between films, the movies seem like one massive undertaking rather than individual projects. “We’ve worked on them for so long, it’s very hard now just to decipher from one film to the next, and it all blends in as one huge project,” he said. “It’s a shame. We wish they could go on again, but it’s been a real marvelous achievement and a marvelous project to work on, you know? Myself and all my team are really proud to have worked on it.”
Wilkinson said he and his team reflect on the series and all its behind-the-scenes workings with awe. “We don’t think we’ll ever see the likes of this series of movies again, not for a while anyway,” Wilkinson said. “It’s just a fantastic franchise. It’s just gone on and on, and got bigger and better. When you see this stuff and you walk on the set, and you know your men have dressed them, you’re just all so proud of it, because everything does look absolutely wonderful, right down to the boys’ dormitory, the detail, the stuff that the set decorator puts there, the Great Hall, the Common Room, and you know, the stuff when we’ve been out looking for props and finding them. It’s been amazing.”
– Noelene Clark
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can't wait till this movie comes out! gimme a thumbs up if you agree!
all the props are so awesome so much detail good work! i look forward to seeing more of them in the new film!!!
omg awesome
LLA NO VEO LA HORA DE QUE LA GRAN PELICULA MAS ESPERADA SALGA AUN QUE ME ENTRISTESE PORQUE NO QUISIERA QUE TERMINARA LAS PELICULAS DE HARRY ESPERO Y SALGAN MAS PELICULAS DE EL Y QUE NUNCA TERMINEN SON GENIALES TODOS UN GRAN ELENCO EL QUE FORMA LA PELICULA SON GENIALES QUE LA MAGIA NUNCA TERMINE
ya quiero ver ese estreno de harry me muero por verlo
Where can I get a wand
Noblecollection.com I have Harry's and Dumbledore's, and they are AWESOME!
Wizarding World of Harty Potter in Orlando!
hi, i love the wands too!
D: I WISH I could have that amazing dress Hermione wore for the ball in the 5th movie!! ;D
Its the 4th movie
i think u r talking about the 4yh movie?
I cannot wait! I've got my ticket for midnight show and am re-reading the book….I want my wand to have unicorn hair. I think that would fit me.
waaaa can't wait………………..
Iam excited for the new movie …….me and a bunch of my friends are going to the midnight showing of it and were all wearing different harry potter tshirts
Awesome…. The last chapter is the best one…
Can’t wait to watch the screening
Jeez, I can't wait until the movie comes out. My sister and I are trying to get tickets to see the Midnight airing here in Michigan, but they're not selling or reserving tickets yet, so it's hard… Ugh, can't wait. So excited!
i love harry potter!!!
Ey cant wait 4 dz cuming movie………
i can't wait for this movie
REALLY fantastic
Harry Potter and The Deathley Hallows (Part I)……
I'm waiting you in Indonesia.
dis film is cool
i can't wait to watch this part,
My Idol HARRY POTTER Series . . . / /
Harry Potter Is My Most Most Favourite Movie
i suppose the seen which is shown above is d 1 wr hemione casts spells to protect herself,harry nd ron aftr they nearly got caught by the ministry people and yaxley;who reached Grimmald place along with their apparition and broke Fidelius charm.. and that blood s from ron's wounds, happend as he got splinched by apparition….. am i right……..want to c the movie to clarify all the doubts…
Hi, I am a very good fan of Harry Potter I'm from Greece and I want this movie!!!!!!!!!!…..
can't wait to see it
the interview that i hear sound greart
15 Day "Harry Potter"
J'adore ! Vous parlez tous anglais !
deadly waiting for release
I’m majoring in props and this is my favorite series of movies and books it was great reading this
The Harry Potter movies would really not be as magical as the books without all this magic created on set and for the sets. Every single person that has contributed to the franchise in every little way has made the experience for us fans beyond just alive. I would absolutely love just to look through those 104 containers, and if I was allowed to keep one small object from them… ahhh I wish!
I've been a fan since before the movies began to come out and I DON'T WANT THIS TO END.
This movie better kick giant butt.
emma watson votre participation a été exelent
I'll be seeing this day 1 for sure.
movie suck worst of all parts very disappointing not up to the mark david yates sucked all last three parts harry potter was my favorite movies i dont know what should i say now wast of time and money
where do i get a free wand